There’s nothing worse than spending $40 on a foundation only to discover it breaks you out, or splurging on a designer mascara before learning it clumps like crazy. Wasting money on products just plain sucks.

Thankfully, however, beauty sampling services are a great way to try products on a small scale. For $10 to $15 a month, you get deluxe-size beauty samples delivered right to your door. Not only do they help you discover which products work for you and which are duds, but they also introduce you to awesome products you may not have tried on your own!

Even though there are dozens of these beauty sampling services out there, they are all pretty similar — you go to their website and fill out a short quiz about your style and beauty habits, skin type, and/or beauty level of expertise. Then, if you decide to join, you will receive a monthly box of product samples tailored to your needs.

Although they are all similar, each service is unique in the products and brands they offer, as well as their price, so read on for my picks of the top 3 beauty sampling services, plus the pros and cons of each.

Birchbox

What you get:

A monthly box filled with a varying number of beauty, grooming, and lifestyle samples from top and up-and-coming brands like NARS, Stila, and The Balm.

Is it a surprise?

Yes. You don’t know what products you will receive until you get your box (which is part of the fun!). But, if you fill out your profile on Birchbox’s website, your samples will be more tailored to your personal beauty and grooming needs.

Cost:

$10 per month for a monthly subscription or $110 per year for a yearly subscription.

Cancellation policy:

Monthly subscribers can cancel anytime with no cancellation fees, just make sure to cancel before the next monthly billing to avoid getting charged for a box you don’t want.

Yearly subscribers can only cancel during the first month of their subscription.

Rewards/perks:

Access to Birchbox.com, which features product info and tips, beauty expert interviews, tutorials, and more.

Birchbox Points — get 100 of them and you recieve $10 off a full-size product order in the Birchbox shop.

Love your samples? Buy the full-sized version through the Birchbox shop, which offers special discounts and promotions.

Other Factors to Consider:

There is an average wait time of 4 weeks for your subscription to be ready. After you request a subscription online, you will have to wait until you are emailed a link to purchase your subscription.

Is it a surprise?

Cost:

Beauty Box 5 offers three different plans: a monthly recurring fee of $12, a quarterly recurring fee of $30, or a yearly recurring fee of $100.

Cancellation policy:

You can cancel your subscription at any time. As usual, be sure to cancel your subscription before your next payment is processed if you no longer wish to receive a Beauty Box the following month.

If you cancel a quarterly or yearly membership, your subscription will terminate at the end of your subscription term. There are no partial refunds for canceling in the middle of a quarterly or yearly membership.

Rewards/perks:

Refer 5 friends and receive a free month.

Access to product tips and tricks on the Beauty Box 5 website.

Other:

Beauty Box 5 features a variety of natural and vegan products.

What do you think?

Are you subscribed to any of these beauty sampling services? Would you ever join these services? Have you tried any of these? If so, how did you like them? Which one did you like best? Let us know in the comments below!

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28 Responses to “Top 3 Beauty Sampling Services”

Thanks for posting this, I was curious what the differences and perks were for each company. Just subscribed to Beauty Army for a year (definitely affordable for a grad student). Keep up the good work!

2

November 13th, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Alee

Wow, i had no idea they did this! Where have I been?! ;) thanks for the post!

3

November 13th, 2012 at 12:52 pm

Courtney

Hey I was just wondering how many products birchbox includes on average? It isn’t listed in the post above. I’m definitely looking for a good beauty monthly service and these seem pretty good.

4

November 13th, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Sarah

I did Birthbox for about 3 mos. and I was really disappointed. I never received any makeup, but scents, a nail polish, a face cleanser, 2 reaallly reallly tiny (think the ones found in magazines) samples of bb cream. a apple pie bar (O.o). one of those weird new hair ties. Overall, bad choice for someone who wanted makeup.

I have heard of this before and I really want to try it – I love testing out new products. I also think that these make for a perfect Christmas gift too. Something you get delivered to your door every month – better than a magazine subscription that’s for sure!

7

November 13th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

Phidias

I’m surprised you guys didn’t review the Michelle Phan one – I’ve always wanted to know if it was any good. I think she has two now and one of them ships to Canada now. I;m thinking of trying one of these beauty boxes out….

8

November 13th, 2012 at 2:51 pm

Kathryn

Just as an FYI, this month’s Allure magazine has an article about beauty sampling services, and included the listings from a recent box from each service as an example.

If you guys want makeup you should subsrcibe to IPSY (MyGlam). I just got my second bag today and I’m very impressed.

Each bag contains 2 full sized products (this month is nail polish and eyeliner) and they choose really good products that are well worth the $10. Plus it comes in a cute bag!

I’ve been hearing negative things about Birchbox, like not so much makeup and sample packets that you can get for free in department stores (and I’ve seen a ton of granola bars?!) but I’ve also seen great boxes, I think that one is a little more hit and miss.

16

November 13th, 2012 at 6:55 pm

Jen

Very surprised you didn’t put “IPSY”/”My Glam” on the list. I love my IPSY bags way more than when I got birchbox! You should check them out! I’m kind of obsessed with the November bag I just got in the mail!

17

November 13th, 2012 at 7:51 pm

Melanie

For those who are interested the Luxe Box by Loose Button is a fantastic Canadian equivalent of these. Like Birchbox you don’t get to choose specifically what goes in, but you also tailor it to your skin type/features etc. I think the price is about $13 CDN per month. I had to discontinue mine but I LOVED it and I’ll totally start getting them again once I’m making more money :)

I haven’t heard many good reviews about Birchbox, but I have heard good things about ipsy/glam bag.

19

November 13th, 2012 at 10:56 pm

Taylor

I’ve been subscribed to IPSY/myglam since it started last year. It’s good and has a variety of products, but these past few months, I haven’t been as satisfied with the products as I had been previously. Think I might cancel soon.

20

November 13th, 2012 at 11:28 pm

Alex

THIS IS SO COOL! I am so happy I saw this post. Really want to try this.

21

November 14th, 2012 at 4:51 pm

Tammy

My Birchbox is sometimes hit or miss, but mostly a ton of hits. I often receive full-sized products, like last month I got a huge tube of mascara! Even if it’s not exactly what I expected, the value of the box is always more than $10. It’s really great for someone who travels often.

22

November 14th, 2012 at 5:40 pm

Baylie

Birchbox is the most legitimate of beauty subscription services, so if you’re thinking about trying some out I’d go with that one.

DO NOT subscribe to MyGlam/IPSY. If not a scam, it is at the very least a terrible, shoddy service. There are dozens of Youtube videos about dissatisfaction with MyGlam/IPSY.

I use Ipsy/MyGlam. This is only my second month and so far I’m very satisfied with the products I’ve received thus far. For only $10 a month, you get 4-5 different products each month, some deluxe-sized and usually about 2 full sized products. If you’re curious, you can check out my post about October’s Glam Bag here: http://xo-chiisakute.blogspot.com/2012/10/october-glam-bag_14.html

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